The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-11-11

saw Bony and digging away like
human ghouls at the newest grave in
the potters' field Of the town cemetery
That is, midnight might have seen us
IL she had carried her lantern with her,
but Mrs. Myers had died in "the dark
O. the MOON" and we for greater pri-
vacy had gone without light.
We raised the coffin and its contents
and by devious paths and byways bore
it to the back room of my office and
there turned on little light.
THE wrong coffin, by" was the
ejaculation of Bony, finished with an
oath; and he dropped with half-par'
alyzed limpness into the nearest chair.
Then, recovering from his mortifica-
ton, he went on: That's the coffin
what we used for the gal at the hotel. 4"
Here was pretty go. The coffin
was of no use to Bony; and the I'M
known friends of the girl would in all
probability be on hand in few days to
claim the body and take it elsewhere
for interment.
.'But she'll make a bootiful dissect, "
added Bony, by way of comfort, when
he saw the misgiving expressed on my
counternance. Il noticed as how she was
a bootiful gal when we was a mailing
O. her up" he went on. you couldn't
do better n keep her, doctor, SEEM
we We had the trouble o. gettin' her up.
/ won't charge you nuthin' fur my
share o. the work." he continued. be-
traying an eager desire to get out of
further interest in the business. You
can use the coffin for kindlin'. It's
only stained pine"
And Bony turned up the collar OF his
coat and made toward the door as if
this trifling mistake in the matter OF
collins had destroyed every bit of his
vengeful spirit
Stop, Bony,"I said. "you must help
me lift the body out il we are going to
destroy the evidence of our nights
work." and lifted the lid | had been
busy christening when Bony made his
bolt for the door.
II cant do it, DOCTOR" Bony said,
in so timorous voice as to surprise
me. 81 can't look on that gals face
again, nohow. ! saw it this morning,
an felt queer all day, till the boss
riled me about that Myers coffin. 1
can't touch her again. nohowi / can't,
/ tell you, nohow!' And Bony's pite-
GUS wall of ''can't-nohow, died away
in the distance as he closed the door
behind him and was gone.
There was sense of sorrowful inn
petuosity left as the echo of his reced-
ing voice. as if drawing himself unwill-
ingly away from some attractive spell
that might prove fatal if he stayed. l
had lifted the lid and stood looking at
the dead face until that faint sense of
Bonys piteous 'nohowr was succeed
cd by silence so deep as seemed to
break my reverie.
/ turned away, but an irresistible inn
pulse drew me to the face again. There
was not vestige of disease or emacia-
ton, there was not the sunken eye, nor
the grim pallor of death, but marvel
ously beautiful countenance. that wore
only pleading expression, as if to say:
"Why have you disturbed my sleep"
1t might be only Bony's timorous
voice still ringing in my ears that
made the dead face look so beseeching,
but / could not break its spell. Turn
from it with what determination /
would, some ineffable fascination drew
me back again, even from my window
where l had gone to catch the first
faint glimmerings of the dawn, as IL
their coming would release me from
my strange situation.
Involuntary l had moved the coffin
lid and looked upon the delicately
chiselled hands and the small and
shapely feet Her clothing was of the
oommonest sort, and had been worn
surely for disguise and not Of necessity.
Bony's queer" feeling ! understood
now, and every time my eyes perforoe,
sought her face. 1t was the power OF
beauty to touch human sympathies'
What home had she desertedP How
far had she fallenp 1t had been bit
of my Impractical philosophy that we
men were too exacting of the other
sex; that we had no right to ask more
than a fair balance of virtues And